


Just a Taste

by reylotrashpiler (Hosnianprime)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Corporate Lawyer Ben Solo, F/M, Lawyers, Older Woman/Younger Man, Rare Pairings, divorce attorney Holdo, nothing to lovers? is that a thing?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 20:37:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20606951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hosnianprime/pseuds/reylotrashpiler
Summary: Seven years later, it's probably a wrong time to notice how his former teacher's lipstick matches her dress when he is trying to ask her to help him out - to possibly save his job.





	Just a Taste

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SwoloHouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwoloHouse/gifts).

> Hi people!
> 
> This has been a popular request by likes on Twitter, entirely inspired [by the looks Laura Dern and Adam Driver served on that red carpet. ](https://twitter.com/reylotrashpiler/status/1167179653620097024?s=20)
> 
> I never thought I'd be having my best life writing this, but I do. It's challenging and it's fresh and it's good for my feminist soul.
> 
> UPDATE: Due to popular demand I want to clarify that this is indeed a MULTI CHAPTER story, so SUBSCRIBE!! :)

The lifeless black interior of Snoke and Associates feels like a small mercy now that he is forced to stare at the cherrywood interior of his alma mater. It hasn't changed during the seven years he’s been avoiding visiting Yale, and therefore it still makes his stomach shrink to the point of nausea. 

Ben purses his lips while he examines the long line of white, fat men staring at him from the wall. A series of department heads. They all look like a replica of each other until there is Amilyn Holdo, suddenly in color, just like he remembers her from his first and last day of university. 

With the curly purple hair and a sly smirk that lets you know that this woman, who made head of the family law department at the tender age of 35, is far too smart to be written down. 

A friend of his mother, or so Leia Organa claimed when she sent him off to Yale. Ben found out it was a friendship that was kept in fond memory rather than living. Thank god. 

The nervousness he feels right now while waiting for his turn to enter Amilyn Holdo's office is akin to that first day when he knew he had to face his mother's friend in the auditorium. Somehow the fact that they knew each other was more a burden than a reassurance. A reminder that - no matter how hard he tried, moving across the country - his mother could still manage to watch over him. Her only child, her only evidence that once, before her marriage had failed, she had been happy. 

He is 32, a senior associate with his own junior associates (two of them, to be precise) but this place makes him feel 18 again. 

It seems like it's yesterday: sitting with his brand new friends, Armitage Hux and Poe Dameron, from the orientation days on the bench, feeling hopelessly out of place in a room that was bigger than his whole private school, praying that this Amilyn Holdo wouldn't call him to ask anything about the case they had to read for the lecture. Ben was afraid of embarrassing himself and that word would get back to his mother. 

He’d imagined Amilyn to be like his mother. Always wrought with worry, with greyish hair, her gestures slow and deliberate.

Instead, Ben got a tall, thin woman in polished stilettos. Amilyn’s curly purple hair bounced as she strode to the dais in her skin tight black dress, heels clicking a strict tempo, only to place her shining handbag on the table with grace. 

The chatter died in an instant. 

"Good morning everyone. Welcome to Yale. I'm Amilyn Holdo. And this is Introduction to Ethics."

Her eyes carried over the room of newbies, too young to be called adults. Briefly, they settled on him, before inspecting the others. 

Ben still shudders at the memory as he paces up and down, inspecting every inch of the room for lack of better occupation. 

"Miss Holdo will see you now," her secretary informs him. 

He doesn't know why his head whips in the direction of the girl - or rather, he does not want to acknowledge his astonishment at hearing her say "miss" instead of “Mrs.” Maybe a slip. Amilyn Holdo is married as far as he knows. 

"Thank you," he mutters briefly in the general direction of the girl instead of voicing his unconscious thought.

Even though he is expected, Ben knocks on the door before entering. 

Amilyn's room is a fusion of ancient, clearly meant to be masculine, heavy furniture and the elegant touches of what must reflect a very refined woman. Instead of piles and piles of papers chaotically lying around (what he has seen in other offices here at the academy), Amilyn's space is neat. There are plants, green, mostly, and sometimes white. Not pink. 

Behind the huge, colonial desk, none other than the woman he came to seek out. Her hair is blonde, various shades of it, falling in long, artful waves of never ending gold to the middle of her back. 

_ You changed your hair,  _ is his first thought.  _ It's very good on you,  _ is his second,  _ shut your stupid mouth, Solo,  _ is his third. She looks… different. Logically, Ben knows she is older. 

He should think she looks older, but somehow, she doesn’t. She looks… more confident. More at ease. More… authoritative without trying. Amlyin Holdo is  _ compelling _ . 

"Ben Solo." She says his name with a warm smile. He hurries to shake hands with her over the table as she rises to greet him. A navy blazer creates a dramatic backdrop for the light coloured hair. Beneath it, a blush pink dress that hugs her slim body. She looks equally fragile and wiry, which Ben doesn’t really understand. 

Overall, there is just no way around it, Amilyn Holdo looks  _ accomplished. _ Yes. That’s what she looks like. Accomplished. 

“Mrss. Holdo.” Ben leans over the desk to accept her outstretched hand midway. Her grip is surprisingly - or befittingly? - firm. Ben has to squeeze, really  _ squeeze _ instead of just close his fingers around her hand. 

“Amilyn,” she corrects him with a meaningful smile. It’s contagious. 

“-- Amilyn,” Ben murmurs, momentarily staring into the large blue eyes. There are wrinkles around them he doesn’t remember from before - not like he would have had the occasion to inspect Amilyn Holdo’s eyes from up close while he was attending university. Amilyn told him straight after the first lecture that she is not going to babysit him through university, contrary to Leia's wishes. Ben was relieved. Still, they kept in distant, friendly contact until he finished his masters. Occasional  _ how are you _ 's and explanations. But not much. 

In the seven years since he had any personal contact with her, so much has happened. 

Ben wonders briefly what Holdo might see in him: is it her student? The post-graduate? A young attorney? Her friend’s son?

They move to sit on either side of the table. 

She leans back in her huge chair, inspecting him. “I must say, it’s good to see you back here, Ben. It’s been quite some time. Five, six years?” 

“Seven, actually.” And three months. But who counts, really. 

“A long time.” 

He tells the only thing he feels. 

“Not nearly enough.” Ben grimaces. 

Amilyn laughs. It's…  _ filled out.  _ Round. Rich. 

“These walls still creep me out,” Ben confesses, not even trying to suppress a smile.

“I am equally honored and sad over your fear. Have I really been such a bad teacher to you, Benjamin?”

She is teasing him, yet Ben is eager to clarify. 

“No! No, to the contrary. You were --"  _ I kind of wanted to turn out like you  _ "very inspiring.”

“You still went for corporate,” she points out, mockingly offended. 

Oh yeah. How could he forget about this territoriality of faculty members, each thinking that their field was the most significant and the best to pursue. But Ben knows Amilyn has never been like that. That she is making fun of this bizarre culture. 

“I did. I have no idea how to deal with people," Ben concedes and feels his lips tug into a ghost of a smile.

He takes a deep breath.  _ Better to get it out.  _

"Which is why I’m here.”

The easiness fades. Amlyin waits for him to explain. She is calm, self-assured in her chair, curiosity only given away in her raised eyebrows and lips falling open. It's probably the wrong time to notice that her lipstick or whatever she is wearing matches her dress. 

He swallows. 

“I have a proposition for you.” 

Ben tries to square his shoulders. He reminds himself that he is 32, not a newbie. He has his own junior associates working for him, and he has a real business proposition. Amilyn Holdo isn’t his teacher anymore. 

Yet it’s hard to let it go. 

“Does it involve people?” she asks playfully. 

At least Amilyn doesn’t seem to be perturbed by his newly gained status quo the slightest. She clearly treats him as an equal. It's him who has to grow up to getting used to the idea. To behave like one. 

“Yes. Our biggest client is --”

“-- having a divorce.” 

Ben nods.  _ Am I really this transparent?  _ Of course he is. Why else would he seek out the best divorce attorney in the state? 

“Yes. He trusts us.”

She latches on this, investing the matter. She leans forward and Ben thinks he now has her interest. 

“Us? Who is us?” Amilyn inquires. 

“Snoke and Associates.” 

Her back thuds in the chair. 

“You don’t have that kind of money, Ben.” 

“Please, Mrs. -- Amilyn.” 

Belatedly, Ben realises, his hand shot out in a half attempted gesture to reach for Amilyn's hand. Now it rests on the table. Her sharp blue eyes flutter, briefly flicking at his fingers. He retreats them. 

_ Goddammit.  _

He takes a deep breath, collecting himself. 

"I really need your help, Amilyn. We do not want to lose this client, but he didn't budge when we tried to recommend him a divorce attorney. We don't do family law."

He fidgets in the seat. 

"I do not see a proposition here, Ben," Amilyn says measuredly. 

He rambles. 

"We refer this case to you. We split the fee, 20% for us, 80% for you. You don't have to be on the case by name if --" 

He cuts himself off at her unimpressed stare. 

"15 percent and you get to be of counsel."

Amilyn smiles, triumphantly. 

"Now that is something I would consider. Even for Snoke and Associates."

He exhales, inwardly muttering a  _ thank god.  _ Now he gets to keep his good relationship with Snoke. 

"I would be on the case, though, as a contact. If you don't mind," he adds, and now that the most difficult part is over, he can actually  _ tell _ Amilyn something. She knows better than to think this part is negotiable. 

"I don't mind you, Ben. You were quite brilliant back then, too." 

Now. That's surprising. 

"I almost failed your course," he protests. 

Were it not for the benevolence of a tiny tip she gave him for revision. Just to focus on three cases in particular. Ben supposes everyone needs a hand from faith here and there. Something flickers in Amilyn's eyes, a little mischief perhaps, and he knows she recalls it too. That brief conversation on the corridor. 

"You did." She nods. "But we talk, you know. Behind the scenes. Ackbar told me you were quite something in corporate."

Ben wants to ask if she has talked to his mother, too. Fed him information on his performance. But he doesn't. 

Amilyn glances at the wall, behind and above him, and he knows his time is up. 

He pushes back the cherrywood chair to stand, in unison with the woman in front of him. 

They move towards the door; she is walking him out. The gesture finally makes him feels like an equal and less like a student. Amilyn Holdo is walking him out. He is not dismissed like a student. 

Ben is used to towering above people; sometimes he feels downright hulking. But Amilyn is almost his height, and he doesn't have to crouch as he looks into her eyes. 

"Send me the draft engagement letter this week, so I can review it."

She has a gravitational aura. All this confidence she emanates is new to Ben. There aren't many women in his department, let alone in the firm in a partner level, thus he is not used to meeting this type of femme fatale. 

He stands straighter. 

"Will do. Thank you again, Amilyn."

They pause, standing right in front of the door. Ben senses there is something else she wants to tell him. Her hand hovers over the doorknob. 

"It's  _ Miss  _ Holdo, by the way. I am divorced. So that you get it right on the engagement letter."

She smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Ben stammers. 

"It's alright. A married devorce attorney wouldn't be credible at all, would it?“ she quips, and now her eyes glint a little. 

"Why the name, then?“ 

What he means is  _ why keep your ex-husband's name, then,  _ but he is incapable of forming normal sentences. Or being polite, apparently. He can't deal with people to save his life. 

“Unfortunately, that is my brand. I had to keep it for my own sake."

Ben nods. That seems plausible. Snoke immediately was delighted to hear that Ben could maybe save this client relationship by bringing on Holdo. 

"I'm looking forward to working with you, Ben," she says while opening the door and extending a hand. 

Ben takes it. 

"Me too. Thank you so much for taking the case."

Her grip is firm. Her gaze feels like an x-ray. 

"I'm excited to meet the attorney you have become," Amilyn says in a tone clearly meant for his ears only and not the secretary who must eye them with indifference as they stand in the doorway. 

He doesn't say anything else other than goodbye and flees to take a taxi back to the place where he is actually someone. 

When the drumming in his ears wears off, he has an epiphany. 

She didn't say  _ attorney.  _

She said  _ man.  _

_ I'm excited to see the  _ ** _man_ ** _ you have become.  _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Andabatae, thank you, as usual for your quick beta reading and nice words!! <3 I also thank House Swolo for encouraging this great idea! :) and trueffle for alpha reading it, although she is not into this and will never see this haha. :)
> 
> I gift this work to all those who were there for me when I really needed it. :) You know who you are and you know when. <3
> 
> Other than that I'd love to hear your thoughts! Are you in for this?? What will happen?? Favorite theories?? Let me know!!


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